As Blackhawks seasons go, there have been worse

Already scheduled to be in Washington to face the Caps, the Blackhawks are trying to schedule their visit to the White House for March 10 or 11 to celebrate their Stanley Cup title, according to a team source.

Let's hope by then they've inched their way back into a playoff spot, or the incongruity might be painful.

The reality is that less than a year after their greatest triumph in a half-century, the level of pain and frustration for fans is probably as great as it's been since the Mike Smith era.

And that's saying something.

The fact is you didn't deserve this and it didn't have to be this way, but incompetent management of the salary cap in the years leading up to the title run is what got you here.

In the process you also collected a Cup, so it's fair to blast Dale Tallon for being a fool with the Wirtz family money, but you also have to thank him for getting you a dance with Lord Stanley's Bowl.

Besides, for anyone actually paying attention during those years, this season — this day, as it were — was going to arrive.

Despite warnings, and raised eyebrows across the NHL, the Hawks just drove down the road with their eyes closed and continued to spend carelessly.

And now the piper has been paid.

It's not fun, but I do know this much: I never thought the Hawks would win a Cup in my lifetime.

If Bill Wirtz hadn't passed away when he did, and Rocky not been able to take over when he did, there would have been no Cup.

There would have been no John McDonough, who got Scotty Bowman, who brought in Joel Quenneville just in time, and he finished the job.

I'm happy to have lived to see the day and surprised and grateful for it.

And now we are where we are, with the Hawks on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.

As difficult as this finish will be, it's hard to imagine Jonathan Toews letting it get away from the team, and you have to think he can will his mates to a playoff berth.

For that to happen, the amount of quality chances against has to diminish, and for that to occur the forwards are going to have to play better and more responsibly — and it must happen fast.

So, yes, it's been a tough year, more frustrating than even imagined when the season began.

But you have the defending champs competing for postseason spot with a chance still to make the playoffs.

Thinking back a few years, and the horrid memories of experiments like Mike Smith and Alpo Suhonen, you realize things have been a whole lot worse.

White House visit

I've been to the White House six times — first with the White Sox in 2006 — and it's a knee-buckling, historical experience that is magical and inspiring.

Maybe the players remaining from last year, and it sure doesn't feel like many, will be reminded when they visit of what it takes to win.

Maybe those new to the team, who stay back at the hotel, will be jealous enough to play harder.

Or maybe they'll all just get some of those cool boxes of White House M&Ms.

Just saying

Patrick Kane sure looks like he's been playing hurt, but when there was an open net Wednesday night and a chance for an easy one, his eyes lit up and he sprinted twice for pucks like a man completely healthy and interested.

The good race

The Bulls, Hawks and White Sox will host the inaugural “Home Team Charity Run,” a 10K on April 3 that starts at the United Center and concludes at U.S. Cellular Field, with a portion of proceeds to be split among team charities.

For more info, visit hometeamcharityrun.org.

Package deal

Not only did the Preds get an experienced center for the stretch run — and they'll need him, as banged up as they are — but in acquiring Mike Fisher from Ottawa, Nashville brings home country music superstar Carrie Underwood, who happens to be Fisher's wife.

Read a headline in the Tennessean, “Predators acquire Carrie Underwood's husband.”

The stat

Before Thursday's departure from the Jazz, there had been 245 coaching changes in the NBA since Jerry Sloan took over in Utah.

Apocalypse now

From e-mailer Cornhusker Kickback: “Lemme get this straight: Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf earned $439,000 last year while going 1-11 with a 4.07 ERA, and after the Pirates offered $1.4 million, he gets $2 million in arbitration. When he asked for change, did the panel also hand him two tens for a five?”

Say where?

Miami Herald's Greg Cote: “No Panthers were selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game. When asked for a comment, a league spokesman indicated he had forgotten Florida still had a team.”

And finally …

Comedian Alex Kaseberg: “That vicious storm last week was strong enough to blow chunks off the roof of Wrigley Field. Normally, the words ‘blow chunks' don't apply to the Cubs until early September.”

ŸListen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's “Hit and Run” show at WSCR 670-AM.